I've said before that watching the Celtics trudge through the playoffs in 1987 was like watching the Beatles break-up. It was as painful as all get-out. Now watching replays of Magic's junior-junior hook followed by the sullen faces of Bird and DJ on the bench after game six brings back the kind of pain I felt when I watched the Fab Four go their separate ways in 1970.
But unlike with the Beatles, I feel compelled to put the Celtics swan song in perspective.
After going 40-1 at home in 1986, the Celtics went 39-2 at home in 1987. Meanwhile, the Celtics finished under .500 on the road. The Lakers gambled that the Cs wouldn't threaten them at home in the Finals, and all the purple had to do was steal one of three straight games at the Gah-den to secure a series win.
Now all of this is the standard summary given for the 1987 Finals. Rarely mentioned is the fact that just about every key player on the Celtics was suffering from a serious injury...or dead.
The 1987 season, you will remember, started on draft day in June of 1986, when the Celtics picked Len Bias out of Maryland. That night he overdosed on cocaine, his final words to the world being "I'm tough."
Bill Walton broke his foot riding a stationary bicycle in August, and everything went down the drain from there.
Scott Wedman--season-ending heel injury
Larry Bird--season long back injury that would later require surgery
Dennis Johnson--season long shoulder injury
Robert Parish--season long ankle problems
Kevin McHale--Broken foot
In the end, yes, the Lakers did win the championship. But they were one missed junior-junior hook away from returning to the Forum down 3-2.
I would have liked the Celtics chances much better on the road with that game count.
Even losing the series in six games wasn't all bad, especially in light of the fact that Pat Riley considered that his best team ever.
2 comments:
I love your blog and the Celtics but with the fact that the Celtics were under .500 on the road in '87, and that they needed the homecourt advantage and 7 games to beat both Detroit and Milwaukee, I think the Lakers would still have beaten the Celtics in 7 in '87 since they had the homecourt. And if the Lakers lose Game 4 who knows what happens in Game 5 that year?
Thanks for the compliment.
You are probably right.
My only gripe is that series is remembered as the Lakers simply beating up on the Cs again, instead of the Lakers beating up on a injured-depleted roster.
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